This invention relates to media recording systems. More particularly, this invention relates to media recording systems that provide a reduction in media cut-off when media that is distributed at imprecise intervals is recorded.
Video and audio media, such as television programs, pay-per-view programs, neat-video-on-demand (NVOD) programs, video-on-demand (VOD) programs, music, promotional material, and other types of media, are typically distributed to viewers over wired and wireless networks. Suitable wired and wireless networks may include, for example, broadcast television system networks, one-way and two-way cable television system networks, digital broadcasting services (DBS) and other satellite delivery services networks, the Internet, and other suitable types of networks. Users' media viewing and listening experiences are typically dictated by the distribution schedules of media providers. With the advent of audio cassette recorders, videocassette recorders, and other media recording devices, users currently have the ability to replicate or time-shift their viewing and listening experiences; they may record programs, in an attended or unattended fashion, and play back the programs for later viewing or listening.
More recently, products have been developed that allow users to manage their viewing experiences and record media with increased flexibility. Personal video recorders (PVRs), such as those provided by TIVO and REPLAY, record programs on hard-disk drives. Users can schedule programs for recording and play them back at a later time. These systems also record what users are watching in real-time, allowing the users to pause real-time programs when, for example, the user has to leave the room. Upon returning, users may resume their viewing where they left off, and may even fast forward through commercials until they reach the point at which the program is provided. Users may also rewind programs.
Another technology that has reshaped the way users view and manage television is the interactive television program guide. Interactive television program guides are well known. Illustrative interactive television program guides are described, for example, in Knee et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,892 and Knudson et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/357,941, filed Jul. 16, 1999, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Interactive television program guides may be based on a number of different hardware platforms. Suitable hardware that may be used in implementing a program guide includes hardware such as satellite receivers, personal computer televisions (PC/TVS), personal computers (e.g., with television tuner cards), cable set-top boxes, or any other suitable hardware. Interactive program guides may allow users to record programs on digital or analog storage devices (e.g., videocassettes, hard disks, floppy discs, flash memory, recordable compact discs “CDs”, recordable digital versatile discs “DVDs”, or any other type of storage). Interactive program guides and features for controlling videocassette recorders are described, for example, in Ellis et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/924,239, filed Sep. 5, 1997, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Interactive program guides having digital storage for use in recording are described, for example, in Hassell et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/157,256, filed Sep. 17, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Programs may also be recorded on a program guide, the Internet, or, other server. Client-server program guide systems are described, for example, in Ellis et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/374,043, filed Aug. 13, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Client-server guides with remote server recording are described, for example, in Ellis et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/332,244, filed Jun. 11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The program guide server may be located at the cable system headend or other suitable location. The program guide may be an on-line program guide, which may be implemented using a web server on the Internet. On-line program guide systems are described, for example, in Boyer et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/938,028, filed Sep. 10, 1997, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Some media distribution systems, such as television networks, begin or end programs at times that are slightly off from published start or end times of the programs. One television network may, for example, consistently start and/or end a program or programs at three minutes before their scheduled times. Still others may start and/or end programs at their scheduled times. In many instances, users may not have a way of knowing when a program actually starts or ends. When users schedule their VCRs, PVRs, or other recording systems, whether directly or via an interactive program guide, to record programs according to the published start and end times, the beginning or ending of the programs may be cut off. This may frustrate users, especially when the last minute of a program contains content that a user has been waiting for.
Television programs or other media may start at unscheduled times when, for example, a real-time event, such as a sporting event, runs late. Users recording the sporting event, that is unpredictably running later than the published scheduled time to end (e.g., as a result of overtime in a sporting event), may experience an early cut-off in the recording of that event. Furthermore, if the user has cued a program, scheduled to follow the sporting event that is unpredictably running past its scheduled end time, he or she may obtain an inappropriate recording of the adjacent event. One approach has been to allow users to specify padding to account for such variation in start times and end times when recording programs. For instance, REPLAY may incorporate a feature that allows users to manually set padding. This approach is deficient, however, in that the user is burdened with scheduling the amount of padding and the recording medium is wasted on unwanted content if the padding, or a portion of the padding, is not used for recording the desired program. Such an approach is also inappropriate for situations where time changes in published times may vary from network to network and from program to program. If users cannot remember the right amount of padding that is required, they must either waste recording time or chance a cut-off by estimating too little.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide systems and methods for cut-off reduction when recording media distributed at imprecise intervals.